Monthly Archives: May 2010

This month has ended up on the record books (at least for us) as completely chaotic. Nana passed on very early in the month. Her death prompted an emergency trip to Calgary. For those not familiar with Canadian geography, that’s roughly seven hours from us here in Saskatoon (by car). Because of our animals, we don’t take many trips. It’s hard to orchestrate things… finding families each willing to take in someone while we’re gone is tough. But when push comes to shove, in emergency situations like this, friends are always there to help.

So before anything else, a huge thank you to: Susan and Ray who watched Roo (Chihuahua) and Zenora (Congo African Grey), Dani and her boys who watched Brandibuck (Havanese) and ended up picking up Neddie (Chihuahua) from the airport and watching him for a day too, Amber, Mike and Ainsley who took care of Thora (Lurcher), and my parents who let Liz (Miniature American Eskimo) tear through their house. Without your help we would not have had the chance to go and gain the closure we so needed. THANK YOU ALL!

We left Saskatoon on a Sunday, with plans to return home on Thursday (the day after the funeral). During our planned stay we spent an afternoon at the Calgary Zoo. Lily-Ann and I are both animal nuts (and Damon loves us so grins, shrugs his shoulders, and humors us), and the zoo in Calgary has a vast array of exotics we don’t see at the Forestry Farm Zoo in Saskatoon. So we took in the sights, sounds, and smells on the Monday after we first arrived.

Lily's favourite this trip was the River Otters

The following day (Tuesday) was Nana’s wake. It was hard. But it was nice to see family we hadn’t seen in a few years. Seems it always takes an occasion like this to pull folks together. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle things, so thought it was best that Lily-Ann not attend the viewing. She stayed with our cousins, Sheena and Madison (who, like Damon, are Nana’s grandchildren). In the end, she probably could have come…

In the morning on Wednesday we took Lily-Ann to visit my Auntie Risa. It was the day of the funeral, and that wasn’t something we were ready to bring Lily for. We were (and are) very grateful that she was able to watch the wee girlie. It made the day much easier knowing we didn’t have to worry about her.

I’m not big on funerals. For some, they can be very cathartic. For me… well… they are a mixed bag of emotions, and most are not positive. I would be much happier with just a group of folks who loved the deceased getting together to share stories. That, for me, is where the catharsis is found. That said, Nana’s funeral was lovely. It was presided over by a pastor who knew Nana very well, and who loved her. It was personal, and exactly what Nana would have wanted. It was beautiful, and I am grateful to her pastor and her church for that.

Later in the day, everyone gathered at Debbie and Brian’s home (Debbie is Nana’s only surviving daughter). It was a wonderful time. Grief was the order for quite some time… but as stories and memories were shared smiles glowed all around us. And late into the night we found ourselves enjoying being with one another, and even found ourselves laughing full heartedly as Debbie attempted to sing an incredible (and hilarious) rendition of “Back in Black”. There was a lot of love in that room.

"Back in Black" with the whole clan

The next day we set out for home, after many hugs and sad goodbyes. Most everyone from out of town was hitting the road at some point. Seemed we were in the middle. Many had already left, but a few stragglers remained when we loaded into our car and headed onto the highway.

However… Our trip home was not to be.

About 45 minutes outside of Strathmore there is a stop sign on the highway. You can turn right to head to Drumheller, or continue straight to Three Hills. We did neither. Our car stopped normally, but there it stayed as smoke billowed forth. Believe it or not, we remained on that stretch of highway for almost twelve hours before being towed back to Strathmore, and then picked up by Debbie who took us back into Calgary.

Following Daddy

The next week was a series of highs and lows. Ordering part after part, having less and less confidence in the mechanics who held us hostage… but having no choices but to just keep waiting. I packed our bags FOUR times during that week, each time expecting to be going home, only to find out from the mechanics that one more thing had gone wrong, and one more thing was keeping us from our trip home.

We are so grateful to all our friends and family who watched over our animal family members during our extended stay. And to Debbie and Brian who played host for so much longer than they’d initially signed on for. And to Auntie Risa who came by one afternoon to allow us to escape, at least for a little while. And to Damon’s mom who loaned us the money we needed for the repairs. And to David and his family who tried to help us fix the car before we finally gave up and called for a tow. So many people came to our aid – including strangers that day as we sat in the ditch. The semi driver who spent over an hour with us under the hood. The families who offered us a ride back into town. The fellow who gave us a car charger for our cell phones when they had died. The woman who stopped and offered us water (and beer). It was a horrible experience, but was a wonderful reminder about the kindness of strangers. And that was something I needed.

Being involved in politics you often see nothing but the negative. So much back biting, ignorance, and just a failure to listen to anyone but “yes men”. It can burn a person out. I’m involved in the “game political” to give a voice to regular people… as it’s been too long that we have been ignored. I refuse to let the game get to me, and I refuse to stop listening, to stop learning. But it can get to you. So it was nice to be reminded WHY I’m involved. It’s for all the people, like us, who stop to help when they see someone in trouble. All of you deserve to be heard. THANK YOU!

So, we’re back home. Thankful to be back home. Grateful to be back home. It’s been a long couple of weeks. We’re exhausted. But we’ll recover. 😉 And I’ll be back at it, working to make things better. And my project 365 blog will be back to its old self in June. See you then.

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I’m sorry I haven’t been posting lately. I feel that I’ve let both you and myself down. Unfortunately right now is a rather difficult time for our family. One of our family members (extended family, not Damon, Lily-Ann, or myself) is in the hospital on life support. As such, other commitments, like my blog, have fallen by the way-side. I do promise to get back on the horse, as it were, as soon as I’m able. Until then, please forgive my absence. I do miss sharing with you all.

My evening posts have become a part of my routine, a way to look back at the day and remember all the people and things I’m grateful for. It has become a very peaceful and comforting time for me… but right now my brain is kinda full. It’s hard to be open, it’s difficult to be sharing, when your mind is bogged down in the realities of losing someone you love. So, for the next little while I expect I’ll be refraining from blogging… I promise though. I’ll be back. I will still try to take a photograph a day. And I will try to share them, even if it’s without words.

Take care everyone. And be sure to let those you love, know how much they mean to you.